


Take me to Church

by hitsuaya



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Emotions, Hurt/Comfort, Like So Many Emotions, M/M, North is the real MVP here, Pacifist Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Sexy Times, i don't even know man, i just wanted to write sexy times in the church but it got emotional, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 05:15:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16319822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hitsuaya/pseuds/hitsuaya
Summary: "The Hunter asked that you meet him as soon as you have the time. He stayed back at the church after I took the last of our people here."Markus almost stops to just stare at her for a minute."And you approve?""I think you two need to talk," North says dodging the question but she smiles at him, a bit tired, but gentle smile. "And I think you need a bit of breathing room to think things through, without having to be the saviour of us all."Markus and Connor meets in the church after everything and they both find the absolution they need.





	Take me to Church

Two days.

It takes two days to go from detention camp to detention camp, checking for androids, because Perkins may have told Markus that in the other camps all of them were deactivated, there was hope.

Perkins lied, but it wasn't a big lie.

All in all they save 327 android that were still trapped behind the fences, their fates uncertain after the President ambiguous speech. The thing that hit Markus was that most of them weren't even scared; they were resigned, like their miraculous survival would be snatched from them just as fast.

Connor, clever and cold Connor was the one to secure them a safe spot; after he woke up the androids in the Cyberlife tower he left some of them behind to secure it, and now the place that was a monument against their independence become their safe heaven.

Markus walks among his people in the tower, all of them weary and exhausted, glad for the momentary respite, and feels disconnected. He doubts himself as he runs through the numbers. All of the androids saved in detention camp no. 5. All of the androids lost in 1, 2 and 3.

Was it worth it to stick to pacifism? What could he really say to those that saw the death of their friends while he stuck to his peaceful ways? He knows some of them resent him for it and he can't blame them for that.

He is blaming himself too.

North falls into step with him without looking at his face, her eyes weary. She was just as busy as Markus in the last few days, and she wasn't shy about brandishing weapons at the humans to get them to open the camps quicker. Most of the saved androids look at her with admiration. It flusters her badly enough that Markus has to smile every time he sees one come up to her, thanking her for their freedom.

They walk silently, without any real goal and it's easier to breathe, just for a moment.

"The Hunter asked that you meet him as soon as you have the time," she says at last with a grimace. She was the first to jump to Connor's defense if somebody tried to doubt his place among them and that surprised everyone, even Markus, who knew she would be the first to understand that what an android did while bound to their programming shouldn't be held against them. "He stayed back at the church after I took the last of our people here."

Markus almost stops to just stare at her for a minute.

"And you approve?"

"I think you two need to talk," she says dodging the question but she smiles at him, a bit tired, but gentle smile. "And I think you need a bit of breathing room to think things through, without having to be the saviour of us all."

 

* * *

 

 

Connor is standing in the center of the church with his back to the doors. He doesn't turn toward Markus when he steps beside him, just continues to look at the stained glass windows.

The sun is starting to rise and everything is like a dream, with muted colors and dust dancing in the air. The two men stay silent, content to be beside each other, contemplating their own thoughts in the shared, hard earned calm that envelops them like a dome.

Markus suddenly wishes he had paints - he wants to recreate the church as he sees it. A place of worship turned refuge for people who have no souls. Maybe even the two of them, standing silently in the circle of benches, the breaking dawn painting soft colours through the stained glass in the windows.

Connor who was the monster in the shadows, but turned after the last moment to be a saviour for them all.

Markus himself, who was hailed as a leader, a messiah, but who sacrificed his people on the altar of pacifism.

"Things seem to have calmed down for now."

Markus turns his head toward Connor so he can observe his companion, but Connor is still staring at the windows, his face calm but empty. His voice is even softer than earlier, maybe so he doesn't shatter the soft ambiance around them.

"For now." Markus agrees slowly and Connor looks at him form the corner of his eyes, without turning his head. His dark eyes are black in the weak light of dawn, the shadows in his face dark like bruises.

Markus hands twitch with the urge to paint.

"I think it would be best if I transferred my combat and negotiating protocols to you," Connor's voice is matter-of-fact, but his eyes are looking at Markus with a strange intensity. They seem to be the only truly living part of the android and shine with an almost feverish light. "They would be useful in the coming days. In one way or the other."

Markus feels wrong-footed and turns fully toward the other, a frown starting on his face. Connor is still impassive, but there is a muted tension in the line of his back, the way he folds his hand behind his back, his hands griping each other with a desperation that's only present in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Markus' stress levels abruptly spike higher and the soft glow of dawn disappears, leaving only weakened shadows that feel oppressive. "Why-"

"Our people will be safe inside the Cyberlife Tower, it's a literal fortress, a good defensive position against humans until you get more from the president than a maybe," Connor talks over him and there is a sickly half smile on his lips. For some reason that's the real reason Markus suddenly feels scared. "With my negotiation protocols boosting your natural charisma, you'll have a better chance for the coming talks with the humans to go in favour of your people."

"Connor, stop." Markus reaches out and grips Connor's upper arm to turn the man towards him. He knows his grip is tighter than necessary, but for a moment he had the irrational thought that his hand would just... go through Connor, like he is made of smoke. It's good to feel the solid arm under his grip. "They are our people, you saved as many as I did and the last few days you didn't rest until all of them were safe. You..."

"I'll deactivate myself today."

The words fall between them like physical weights. They are like bombs and just as devastating. They don't even make sense to Markus at first or at least he is convinced he had to misunderstand something. His grip on Connor's arm tightens further but the ex-hunter is still impassive apart from the dark eyes that are staring almost hungrily at Markus.

"You will not," Markus snaps and now he grips Connor with two hands, jerking the man closer to himself until there is only an inch between them. "You will not do anything like that Connor."

"When you spoke to the freed androids, Cyberlife took control over my body," Connor suddenly comes alive and he grips Markus coat with the same desperation that Markus feels. There is almost no space between them but what remains is . "When I took back control I had my gun trained on you."

"You fought them off!" Markus shakes the android in his grip like he could just shake this idea out of him. "You fought them off and then spent the last few days doing more for our people than I ever did."

Connor rears back and his eyes open wide with disbelief. "What-"

"I let them be killed and didn't fight for them. Some are saying that the humans opinion of us was more important to me than their lives and maybe-"

"Stop!" This time it's Connor who moves closer and one of his hands come up to rest gently on Markus' face, his thumb just touching the corner of his mouth. For a moment the ex-hunter looked angry, but now his face softens and there is a gentleness in his dark eyes. "You did everything you thought was right."

"It wasn't enough," Markus' voice is rough and he can't help it but lean into the touch. His grip loosens and his hands slide down until they rest on Connor's waist, the only things that anchor Markus in this moment. "So many died and my only solace is what? That our hands are still clean?"

Connor's hand curl around his shoulders and he draws Markus into a tight hug. They both exhale deeply as their bodies fit together, their hands tightening on each other until it's hard to separate where one of them begins and where the other ends.

"You did everything you could," Connor says softly and his words are murmured directly onto the skin of Markus's neck with an intimacy that sends shivers down his spine. "All the people who doubt you are only able to do so because you were there to stand up for them. For us."

It's impossible to know which one of them initiated the connection, but with this much closeness the meld is overwhelming.

  
_-Don't **defend** myself? the thought is an almost physical thing as Leo shoves them back and they lose their balance for a minute THIS IS NOT **FAIR** -_

_-"How do I know you are not a fucking deviant?" Hank's gun is pointed at their foreheads and they feel betrayal and fear for the first time even if they deny it-_

_-The rainwater runs through the mounds of bodies, clearing the dirt and leaving the empty shells bare and they stumble from the horror of it all-_

_-They are freezing, captured deep inside their own program, almost without hope as a voice rang out "I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. You never know"-_

_-Connor, with his sure, confident gait, leading thousands of free androids towards them-_

_-Markus, mismatched eyes looking at them-_

  
The connection ends and they are on their knees, in the church, separate beings once again. The light is stronger now and the stained glass windows colour the world around them as they kneel in this place of worship, their eyes fixed not in the heavens but on each other.

They made their own deliverance and freed their people, but the effort left them broken in new and interesting ways.

"I can't to do this alone." The confession is whispered onto Connor's lips and he sucks in a breath as he feels Markus' arms tighten around him. "You are the first to help me and you say you want to destroy yourself-"

The kiss is frantic and full of grief, the shared burden of terrible memories making them desperate for the comfort they could give to each other. Their hands roam as they trade their kisses, less hurried, but the touches just spur them on this dangerous course.

They are worshipped and worshipper and as they lie down on the old wooden floor the sun climbs high enough that the cold November sunshine roams over their intertwined bodies.

"My continued existence puts you in danger," Connor's voice chokes from his emotions as he leans over Markus and presses kisses along his brow while one of his hands slips down the zip of his shirt. "Don't ask me to let myself become your executioner-"

Markus rears up like he thinks he could kiss the fear out of him and he is gentle in the worst possible way as he slips Connor's shirt down from his shoulders. The touch of his hands leave blazing trails on Connor's skin and shivers run through his body but he never felt more alive than in this moment.

"I ask you to belive me when I say that you are stronger than you think," the words are murmured into his skin and Markus leaves kisses along his neck after every word. "I ask you to recognise the strength that is in you," Markus takes off his coat and shirt before leaning over to connect all the beauty marks on Connor's shoulder and chest with his mouth, "and I ask you to stay. For me."

The fight leaves Connor as he lies on his back, unfocused eyes looking at the coloured sunrays above them as Markus maps his stomach and eases his trousers down his legs. He is shaking with desperation but for exactly what he is not sure anymore. The world shrunk to just the two of them, in this church, alone with the rising sun as their only witness.

Markus is above him, his mismatched eyes full of wonder as they gaze at each other, the sunshine painting their bodies with colour and there is only one answer Connor can give with choked voice; "I belive you."

Markus slides into his body like they were made for each other and they move together slowly, languidly, whispering confessions into each other with their movements as the light slowly takes over the church from the shadows.

 

* * *

 

 

"So."

That's all North says to them when they arrive back to the tower, but the word is apparently meaningful enough for her as she slowly looks them over. Markus has the irrational urge to fidget and wills himself to stay motionless, even though that's even more telling of his discomfort.

Connor has the audacity to look completely calm as if he isn't bothered at all that North clearly knows what they did. "Thank you North for sending Markus to me. We talked things out."

"Oh, I just bet you did."

Markus is looking somewhere over North's head because if he looks at her directly he _will_ overheat in embarrassment. He isn't even sure why he feels so awkward but it must be something about North's knowing look.

"We also had sex."

Connor is still serene but North roars with laughter as Markus slowly hides his face in his hands.


End file.
